1984- An Alternate Ending
by stonewallfrances
Summary: This is just a quick ending to 1984, by George Orwell. Written for a class assignment, I'm pretty proud of this one. Disclaimer: the original story is not mine. You can thank George Orwell for that.


Note: *this story is not mine. It is written by George Orwell. All credit to him. This is just my version of the ending*

_Picking up from pg. 234. O'Brien: "By itself, pain is not always enough." Whole paragraph. _

Winston was silent. As O'Brien advanced with the cage, he could hear a voice telling him to fight back, take a stand. All he could do was sit there and surrender, for he had fought his fight, and he was done. O'Brien began to speak, but Winston could not hear, for he was already pretending he was dead, thinking it might be easier when the time came. Winston was still silent, and, gladly, O'Brien had not objected. In Winston's final minutes, O'Brien seemed to be showing the smallest amount of mercy. There was no explanation of what was in the cage, but Winston knew as soon as he heard the sound of skittering feet. Still, he was perfectly calm.

O'Brien set to work on attaching the cage, when suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps heard outside. O'Brien shook his head and walked to the door, clearly about to open it.

"I don't think that's quite a good idea-" Winston began, for he had an idea of what events were about to take place. He knew he would never dare put these down the memory hole.

"Oh, you be quiet!" O'Brien shouted, reaching for the door handle. He should've never bothered though, for the door was kicked down in his face and in came Ampleforth, Parsons, and the woman by the name of Smith. The three were chanting, "Down with Big Brother!", but Parsons still seemed hesitant to speak the offending words aloud. O'Brien was knocked out cold and slumped on the floor.

"How? How did you get here? Why? What ever possessed you to do that?" Winston rambled on, ignoring the fact that the three were still chanting; Parsons had even joined in now!

"Oh love, it was all my fault, you see. I think I-" she paused for a moment. "_Turned _them." she said in a whisper. Winston couldn't help but laugh, for he was free.

"Ah, that is not a problem. Preferable, actually." Winston responded, still with a grin on his face.

"Now, if you would be so kind, my restraints are fairly painful." Winston asked, raising his voice to catch Ampleforth's and Parsons' attention.

"Ah, of course, love." the woman said. She began to work on the buckles, when a loud bang came from outside the door.

"Parsons, at the door! Ampleforth, help me with the straps! Don't you worry Winston, we'll have you out in no time." the woman whispered, so as not to catch the attention of the people outside the door. The two men set to work, Winston experimentally tugging at the straps, which were fairly loose now. Another bang came from outside the door.

"Deidra..." Parsons called, giving the woman a name.

"We're hurrying! Ah, here we go dearie. You're free now. Now, to the grating!" Deidra swiftly made her way to the grating, which Winston hadn't noticed earlier.

"Now, tell me Deidra, how is _that _supposed to help us escape." Winston asked dubiously.

"Oh you just wait and see love. The boys and I have got it all worked out. Tally-ho!" Deidra jumped down into the hole below the grating, leaving her screwdriver behind. Winston gave Ampleforth and Parsons a look, but they just shrugged and followed suit. Winston prepared to jump, taking one last look around the room. He was becoming very familiar with this room, and oddly enough, he was going to miss it.

He jumped. Good thing too, for O'Brien was beginning to stir from the blow to his head.

Winston hit the floor with a thud, causing him to groan in pain. As he regained balance, he began to survey his surroundings. They were in a tunnel. It was dark, and damp, certainly not very pleasant as a whole. At least there are not any rats, he thought. He began to speak, but Parsons interrupted him.

"Oh Deidra, can't we rest for just a moment? I'm not accustomed to all that work. I'm feeling very ungood." he complained, bending over with his hands on his knees.

"Nonsense! We must keep moving or the guards will catch up with us." Deidra whispered.

"Now, everyone follow me. I know a path out of here which should take us to the road. Just keep quiet and don't get lost." she instructed. With that, she began to walk down the corridor, Winston, Ampleforth, and Parsons in tow.

"Winston." Ampleforth whispered from behind Winston.

"What?" Winston replied.

"You know where this is headed?"

"No idea." After that, all that was heard was the sloshing of boots in inch-deep water.

As they began to near their destination, a light appeared at the end of the hall.

"Aha!" Deidra cried, racing over to it. She immediately climbed the ladder up to the surface, and quietly eased open the seal. She quickly closed it again, and rushed back down the ladder. It squeaked under her weight, proving to be unstable.

"Alright boys. It seems the exit is right in the middle of a main road." Deidra informs them, eliciting glares and bothered faces. Silence followed, for it seemed no one knew what do to. Winston finally spoke up.

"Well?" he said.

"It seems, loves, all we can do is go for it." Deidra said, heading for the ladder. They all reluctantly followed her. She began to climb the ladder, faster now, noticing the creak as she climbs. Deidra swiftly opened the hatch and light poured into the corridor. She disappeared in an instant, leaving the three men to follow. Ampleforth went next, followed by Parsons, who was followed by Winston. As each one emerged, they would see the other one casually walking ahead, and proceeded to follow suit. They began a sort of march to wherever Deidra decided their destination was.

Winston eventually began to recognize where they were, and soon after, he saw his apartment building up ahead.

"Deidra! There's my house." Winston whispered, pointing in the right direction. "Well then, love. That certainly helps us out." Deidra responded, winking at Winston. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant, but decided not to ask, assuming he would soon find out. He did.

"Now, dears. We must split up. Winston, you are to head home, gather anything to you would want. That goes the same for all of you. I'll go home. We are to meet back 'ere in an hours time. Understood? Questions?" Deidra whispered, still walking.

"Yes. I have a question. How- how do you know what you're doing so well? Here's a better way to phrase it: why aren't we dead yet?" Winston questioned, noticing Big Brother's eyes watching him.

"Ah, that's a question, isn't it? You see love, I'm making it all up on the spot." she responds.

"But you said you had it all worked out!" Winston cries.

"I did? Ah, I do that sometimes. Lying. Dreadful thing." And with that, she was off, headed towards what was presumably her home. The rest of the group dispersed.

Winston was puzzled by her words, but decided not to dwell on it, for he had more important matters to take care of. He entered his apartment building, realizing how long it had been since he had been home, or what passed for home. Winston climbed the steps, remembering the familiar schedule of everyday, back when life was normal, or as normal as it could get. Big Brother kept a secure eye on him for the whole journey.

When he finally reached his apartment, he was surprised to see that everything was left in its place. He never had any idea of what would happen after you disappear, but he thought they might at least clear your living space. Walking around his small flat, he picked some odds and ends, and pocketed the last bottle of alcohol. At this point, he didn't care what the telescreen saw. He arrived back at the living room, and noticed his journal sitting at the coffee table. After a moment of consideration, he walked over and picked it up. He found a pen, and sat down in just the right place where the telescreen couldn't see him. Opening the book, he noticed some of the ink was smeared. No matter, he thought, and began to write:

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER! DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER! DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER! DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER! DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER! DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!

He then walked right up to the telescreen, and shoved the words in its face. Dropping the journal, he sprinted down the steps, out the door, and into the square, where the three others were waiting. Out of breath, he spoke to the group:

"What ever you are going to do, do it now, for I expect we have about two minutes." And with that, wasting no time, Deidra pulled up a wood block and motioned for the others to step up with her. They did. Then Deidra spoke: "Down with the ministries!" The others followed her example.

Ampleforth: "Down with telescreens!"

Parsons: "Down with Newspeak!"

Winston: "Down with the thought police!"

Deidra: "Down with Oceania!"

Winston: "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!"

By then a crowd had started to accumulate. Some people seemed pleased, some people seemed horrified. None of the group cared. They just kept on shouting, over and over, the same thing, until they had acquired a group of about one hundred spectators. Winston could see the thought police in the distance, but he didn't care, he just kept on shouting. Now some people were chanting along, waving their arms and jumping up and down. Winston noticed the police getting closer.

"Deidra?" he said expectantly.

"I know, I know. Give me a minute." she responded, hushing Winston. Everyone else had started to notice the police, but no one left.

As they got closer, Deidra began to count, whispering.

"5...4...3...2...1.." the crowd waited patiently.

"RUN!" the whole crowd of about two hundred came rushing past them, sending the police on a wild goose chase. The crowd kept running and running; the four lost them at some point. Ampleforth, Parsons, Deidra, and Winston knew they had sparked something in the citizens of Oceania. They knew big change was ahead. It was.

The four kept running, for longer than anyone could remember. When they finally stopped, they were on the outskirts of town, and had, for now, successfully escaped Big Brother and his thought police. No one at that point knew what they had just done. No one knew that they had just started.

_Many years later._

Winston walked up the steps of his small, brick bungalow. The wind was whistling in his ears. His house was in the heart of London, and the sounds of the city streets were rushing around. The rumbling of the cars, the steps of pedestrians, and the barking of dogs surround him. School children were walking home from school. They remind him of the old nursery rhyme he knows.

Oranges and lemons,

Say the Bells of St. Clements.

You owe me five farthings,

Say the bells of St. Martin's.

When will you pay me?

Say the bells of Old Bailey.

When I grow rich,

Say the bells of Shoreditch.

There is more, but he is pulled out of his reverie when he hears a sound brings him back to ten years ago, in a different place, at a different time. He clearly remembers the sound of the bells in the tower, everyday. That is not a problem now, all is well.

"Julia!" he calls through the door. He remembers the chilly wind of that April day. Yes, it was a bright, cold day in April. Julia appears in the door way, wiping her hands on her flowered apron.

"Yes, darling?" Julia says expectantly, opening the screen door. Winston turns to look at her and smiles. He speaks.

"The clocks are striking twelve."


End file.
